賓康停賽期間最新動向
Trainer Patrick Biancone and Fab Oak Stable’s Fabien Ouaki have entered a contract to purchase 120 acres of Hurricane Hall, including the Lexington farm’s uphill Polytrack gallop.
Hurricane Hall President Ben Walden Jr. said he and partners Brad Kelley and Pat Madden will continue to operate Hurricane Hall as a stallion station. Hurricane Hall’s trainer David Hanley, who designed the one-mile, European-style course, is moving on, Walden said.
The sale is expected to be completed in June.
“Patrick Biancone and his partner Fabien are buying the middle portion of our farm, which includes the gallop and about 60 stalls,” Walden said. “The stallions have always been our focal point, and that’s the reason we’ve taken steps to further that goal.”
Walden, Hanley, Kelley, and Madden founded the latest version of Hurricane Hall, about 400 acres, in 2005. Previous owners include Dinwiddie Lampton Jr. and Stanley Petter Jr.
Hurricane Hall added Champion Turf Male English Channel, Grade 1 winner Silver Wagon, and Grade 2 winner Teuflesberg for the 2008 breeding season, joining NetJets Breeders’ Cup Mile (G1) winner Artie Schiller and Grade 1 winner Bellamy Road.
“The stallions will be staying on the back of the farm where they’ve always been,” Walden said. “We brought in three new horses this year and we’re real excited about that.”
Biancone said the uphill Polytrack course was the determining factor in purchasing the property.
“To be able to gallop horses everyday up hill is a huge advantage, as you don't need to gallop as long as on a flat track to arrive at the same level of fitness,” Biancone said. “As an example, if you gallop one mile up hill, to obtain the same work on a flat track you would have to gallop at least a mile and a half. This will help with the soundness by less concussion on the legs and extend the length of racing career.”
Biancone’s training license was suspended beginning November 1, 2007, under the terms of an agreement with the Kentucky Horse Racing Authority. KHRA investigators found a vial of Alpha-Cobratoxin in a refrigerator in Biancone’s barn at Keeneland Race Course. The snake venom can be used as a painkiller or nerve blocking agent in horses.
The agreement included a six-month suspension and an additional six months during which Biancone cannot seek a training license. Biancone said he did not know about the venom, which was in a bag labeled with veterinarian Rodney Stewart’s name and phone number, according to the KHRA investigation. Stewart was suspended for five years.
Biancone said he plans to use his free time to transform the property into a “Grade 1 international training center.” He wants to add a 5/8-mile uphill turf track and a one-mile conventional dirt track. He also wants to add stalls and a quarantine barn.
“I expect to complete the additions before the end of the year and have everything ready for when I will back in business on November 1,” Biancone said.
Fab Oak horses trained by Biancone have included Grade 2 winner Bonapartiste, Grade 1 winner Whywhywhy, Grade 3 winner Stream Cat, and 2007 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf winner Nownownow. Biancone’s assistant Francois Parisel was the trainer of record for Nownownow’s Breeders’ Cup win.
Fab Oak has been leasing two 20-stall barns at Hurricane Hall for its racehorses, including Nownownow. The three-year-old Whywhywhy colt is in light training and is being overseen by Parisel in preparation for a European campaign.
Fab Oak will continue to use its 130-acre farm in Versailles, Kentucky, for broodmares, babies, and layups. Ouaki, who lives in France, could not immediately be reached for comment.
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